Grand Prix Columbus 2010

Saito's Legacy Continues!

July 30-August 1, 2010

Grand Prix Columbus 2010

It took two days and nineteen rounds of play, but we finally have a new champion for Grand Prix-Columbus! Tomoharu Saito, one of the longest-tenured pro players has added a fourth Grand Prix title to his impressive resume. After repeatedly saying how much he loves how wide open the Legacy format is, he and his Merfolk deck swam through an impressive field, including victories over Brad Nelson's Junk deck, Caleb Durward's impressive UG Madness deck, and finally Tom Martell and his CounterTop deck. Now, with a victory in the rearview mirror, Saito can head home to his new card store with an impressive trophy to place on the shelf, one that says Grand Prix-Columbus champion!

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
This deck. When Kowal Brews, he gets work done.

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
No clue

Name:
Korey Age

Hometown:
Louisville, KY

Age:
23

Occupation:
Inventory Control Manager

Day One Record:
7-2

Day Two Record:
6-1

How many GP/PT top 8’s have you had?
0

What deck did you play this weekend?
Sneak Attack with Show and Tell (Sneaky Show)

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
Aluren combo

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
It did not affect my deck at all in my opinion.

Name:
Tom Martell<

Hometown:
San Leandro, CA

Age:
28

Occupation:
Hedge Fund Trader

Day One Record:
7-1-1

Day Two Record:
6-1

How many GP/PT top 8’s have you had?
0

What deck did you play this weekend?
Four-color Counterbalance

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
U/G Madness

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
I might have played Reanimator before the banning, but otherwise no real impact.

Name:
Christopher Gosselin

Hometown:
Manchester, NH

Age:
28

Occupation:
Attorney

Day One Record:
8-1

Day Two Record:
5-2

How many GP/PT top 8’s have you had?
0

What deck did you play this weekend?
“Ugly Duckling,” my Doomsday deck

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
Caleb Durward’s Madness deck

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
No effect.

Name:
Caleb Durward

Hometown:
Ashland, OH

Age:
22

Occupation:
None

Day One Record:
8-1

Day Two Record:
5-1-1

How many GP/PT top 8’s have you had?
0

What deck did you play this weekend?
U/G Madness

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
Depends on the tournament

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
A bit. Plus Zoo, Goblins and Merfolk looked like the decks to beat.

Name:
Tomoharu Saito<

Hometown:
Tokyo, Japan

Age:
26

Occupation:
Pro Magic player; Magic store owner

Day One Record:
8-1

Day Two Record:
6-0-1

How many GP/PT top 8’s have you had?
14/5 maybe

What deck did you play this weekend?
Merfolk with black

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
ANT

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
My ANT deck power went very far down. After Madrid I thought about playing ANT again, but Merfolk with Black was better for this GP.

Name:
Jason Ford

Hometown:
Waltham, MA

Age:
18

Occupation:
Student

Day One Record:
8-1

Day Two Record:
5-1-1

How many GP/PT top 8’s have you had?
0

What deck did you play this weekend?
Pro-choice

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
Whatever Ari Lax ships you.

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
They banned what?!

Name:
Bryant Cook

Hometown:
Syracuse, NY

Age:
21

Occupation:
Student

Day One Record:
7-2

Day Two Record:
6-0-1

How many GP/PT top 8’s have you had?
1

What deck did you play this weekend?
The Epic Storm

What is the second best deck in Legacy?
Zoo

How did the banning of Mystical Tutor and the unbanning of Grim Monolith affect your deck choice?
I played two Mysticals before the banning. They became Infernal Tutor and a Silence. I think Mystical’s banning was a poor choice, but it hasn’t changed much.

A Wipe Away from Age threatened to clear the way by removing the Counterbalance. Martel, who had just stacked his deck knew he didn't have a three drop on top for a Counterbalance trigger, so he just picked the enchantment up. When Age tried to go for a Show and Tell in the vacuum, Martel stopped him with a Counterspell.

After the Standstill resolved, Ford went to work building his mana. A few turns of land-go prompted Gosselin to ask, "You really did this all day?" With a hand full of counters, Ford felt comfortable enough to start sending his Mishra's Factory. Gosselin's life started decreasing slowly by twos. Gosselin, still bitter about losing his Shelldock Isle last game, broke the Standstill with an Extirpate on Wasteland. Upon seeing Ford's hand, he sighed.

Quarterfinal - Tomoharu Saito vs. Brad Nelson

by Blake Rasmussen

Brad Nelson has been best known as "FFfreak" on Magic Online, but as of late has been putting up a number of impressive results in the world of paper Magic. He squeaked into the quarterfinals after a player was given a match loss in the final round of Swiss to another player in contention, catching him completely off guard when the Top Eight was announced.

Saito, alone at 43 points and one of the few pros left in the tournament, was anything but surprised. His UB Merfolk deck had been taking down opponents all weekend and he went into the round of eight as the first seed.

Game 1

Saito slapped himself to begin game one, his way to focus himself, and we were off. Nelson led with Mox Diamond, Scrubland and a Dark Confidant, all on turn one. Saito allowed them to resolve, then followed up with an Aether Vial on his turn.

Confidant revealed a land and attacked for two on the second turn, and was followed onto the battlefield by a Squire-sized Tarmogoyf.

With Top working now, Confidant was especially kind, revealing a Mox Diamond this time around. Nelson continued his frontal assault with another Tarmogoyf, but Saito, slapping himself to stay focused, had the Force of Will.

Nelson's Top, however, delivered a Wasteland to take out Saito's own Wasteland, which was tapped at the time. A second Wasteland took out Saito's drawn Mutavault, but the two continued to refuse to break the Standstill while the Adept took Nelson all the way down to 5 two points at a time.

At this point, Saito was finally forced to discard, pitching an Aether Vial while Nelson attempted to figure out when and how he could break the Standstill.

Another fetch land activation took Nelson to four, and when Sensei's Divining Top didn't reveal anything helpful, the players moved on to the third and decisive game.

Brad Nelson – 1 Tomoharu Saito – 1

Game 3

While Saito kept, Nelson was forced to mulligan on the play, though he did have a turn one Sensei's Divining Top once more. Saito simply made a turn two Silvergill Adept which, for the time being, could actually tangle with a 1/2 Tarmogoyf.

Not that it had to. Submerge sent the Tarmogoyf to the top of Nelson's library, and he used his turn replaying it alongside a Karakas.

Attacks took Nelson to seven, and Saito had another land and the second Aether Vial, leaving the Cursecatcher as the only card in his hand. Nelson, looking for a blocker, played Dark Confidant. With five power on the opposing side, it was unlikely to have time to reveal anything.

And it did, in fact, trade with a Silvergill Adept. Meanwhile Nelson fell to four. An upkeep Diabolic Edict kept him at two life, but with no cards in hand he would need a series of topdecks to take down the cagey pro.

Cook attacked with eighteen Goblins. Durward traded his Basking Rootwalla for a Goblin and was dealt seventeen damage going down to three. Durward was finally able to show what his Survival engine can do when he pitched Basking Rootwalla, with madness, to get another Basking Rootwalla. The second Basking Rootwalla was then discarded, with madnees, to trigger the Vengevines in Durwards graveyard. Cook had no answer for the flying duo of Elementals.

Semifinal - Caleb Durward vs. Tomoharu Saito

by Nate Price

Caleb Durward and Tomoharu Saito met earlier in the day today, with Saito taking a 2-0 victory in round fifteen.

"Yeah, he crushed me. Probably because he's good at the game or something."

Saito won the roll and chose to go first. Both players started with a mulligan, keeping things even. Saito was the first on the board with a second turn Coralhelm Commander. When Durward tried to match it with a Wild Mongrel, Saito Dazed. A Lord of Atlantis came down, giving the Commander a free pass to knock Durward down to seventeen.

Saito is 'good at Magic.' Or something.

Durward, recognizing that Saito failed to play a land on the previous turn aimed a Wasteland at Saito's Underground Sea, locking him to a single Island. HE also played a Basking Rootwalla. Saito managed to draw a Mutavault on his turn, and he used it and his Island to level the Commander up to two, making it a 4/4. The Commander and Lord seung in, knocking Durward down to eleven. Durward untapped and played an Umezawa's Jitte, though it was a touch too late. After having his Tropical Island hit by a Wasteland on the following turn, Durward conceded.

Saito tried to wrest control of the clock from Durward with a Lord of Atlantis that would give all of his men a free pass. In response, Durward floated a blue mana before trying to Daze it. This served both the purpose of forcing Saito to tap his Mutavault rather than attacking it, it also got rid of the Island, allowing him to chump block with his Rootwalla.

On the following turn, Durward sent his Vengevine over for five, knocking Saito down to nine. Not wanting to replay the Island with a Lord of Atlantis in play, Durward just passed the turn. For his turn, Saito had a bomb. An Umezawa's Jitte could dominate this creature-centric matchup, and as of his turn, he had the only copy. A Silvergill Adept picked it up and swung in, knocking Durward to eleven. At the end of Saito's Turn, Durward started his Survival chain. Vengevine got Vengevine got Basking Rootwalla. Wonder got Rootwalla. On the next turn, it appeared that he would be able to send a quite lethal team of Vengevines through the air at Saito.

The kid gloves are off. The gauntlets are on.

On his turn, Durward started thinking hard. When he began his play, he started by discarding a Rootwalla to get the last Vengevine. That Vengevine found another Rootwalla. That Rootwalla found a Noble Hierarch. With two Rootwallas entering play via madness, the three Vengevines in Durward's graveyard all came back into play. Durward turned his elementals sideways through the air and Saito packed it in.

Caleb Durward 1 – Tomoharu Saito 1

"How long was the flight from Japan," Durward asked while shuffling after a mulligan?

"About fifteen hours," Saito responded.

"That's crazy," Durward said as he shook his head.

Saito just smiled and offered a quick, "I'm crazy," with a smile. That brought a good round of laughter from the crowd.

Durward's laughter died quickly as he was forced to mulligan to five cards. Saito started strong with a turn two Coralhelm Commander. Durward tried to match it with a Wild Mongrel, but Saito had a Daze. Making matters worse, Saito had a Wasteland for Durward's Tropical Island. Add to that an Æther Vial, and it seemed as though things were going south quickly for Durward. Free to use his mana to level, Saito just kept putting counters on his Vial and Commander, content to put creatures into play rather than cast them.

Durward was in a world of hurt. He had whiffed on his second turn and was facing down arapidly growing army and a hand full of cards from Saito. Durward tapped out on the following turn to play an Umezawa's Jitte. Saito must not have cared much about it, because he waited until after it resolved to tap his Vial and put a Cursecatcher into play. His team smashed over on the following turn, dropping Durward to nine. Two fetchlands dropped him to seven.

Semifinal - Jason Ford vs. Tom Martell

by Blake Rasmussen

Tom Martell battled back to earn his spot in the semifinals, winning his last four matches after hitting his second loss (with a tie) early on day two. His four-color Counterbalance list had endured Goblins, Burn, and two feature matches to get where he was sitting now.

That loss? The man standing between him and a berth in the finals, Jason Ford, running Standstill.

With both decks relying on Force of Will and two-mana blue enchantments, the match threatened to last long into the night if neither player seized any initial advantage. And it didn't disappoint. Or it did, depending on how long you like your untimed semifinal matches.

Game 1

Martell kicked off the action with a first turn Sensei's Divining Top, which he activated in his following upkeep, while Ford has his deck's namesake enchantment, Standstill, threatening to slow down what already was a pretty slow matchup. He even had the Mishra's Factory to make it threatening to let sit.

A few turns of "draw go" and "draw, Top, go" kept things moving along. Ford Wastelanded a Tundra and played a Pernicious Deed. Martell had multiple Tops on the table, but nothing else to worry about with Deed. He continued to activate Top to find an edge.

Martell once again spun the Top and resolved a Counterbalance, but Ford still had his active Deed and an attacking Mishra's Factory. Martell was down to 12.

Still, the Counterbalance/Top was enough to convince Ford to activate the Deed for two, enabling him to resolve a Standstill Martell would have to break since he had no way to deal with the Factory otherwise. And he did with a Sensei's Divining Top followed by a Tarmogoyf.

The Standsill let Ford find yet another Pernicious Deed, which he activated for two. Martell flipped his Top to his library, then binned the Tarmogoyf. Ford then used his Wasteland to target Martell's Flooded Strand, which kept him from activating it for fear of losing the Top.

Martell played the Top then dropped another Tarmogoyf, which was met by a fourth Pernicious Deed, though Ford held off on activating it as the Tarmogoyf took him to 11.

The reason was soon clear, as Innocent Blood killed the offending 5/6.

Now you know everything you need to know about game one

Martell continued to play threats, as a Jace began to use its plus-two ability to Fateseal Ford. Factory continued attacking, but now aimed at the Planeswalker. The pattern repeated itself for several turns as Martell used the time Jace bought to work his Tops.

Over, and over, and over again…

Meanwhile, Saito and Durward were in game three. It was that kind of match.

Following the pattern of brief periods of action between the spaces of not much happening, Ford Brainstormed, followed by a Standstill and a Mishra's Factory. Meanwhile, Jace sat just short of ultimate at 11 counters. Factory was going to be in survival mode, keeping Jace from winning the game outright.

"One short," said Martell.

He chose to break the Standstill with a Counterbalance, which he resolved alongside a Top through several counter spells from Ford.

"I'm borderline going to fall asleep. I haven't eaten anything today, I'm tired of playing, and I'm still not convinced this deck is good," said Ford as he shuffled up after game one lasted over an hour.

Final - Tom Martell vs. Tomoharu Saito

by Nate Price

It only seemed fitting that the one and two seeds of the Top 8 should win through their brackets to meet in the finals. Before the match, both players spent the full amount of time studying each others' decklists. Saito was amused at the one Mountain in Martell's deck.

When Saito noticed the Llawan, Cephalid Empress in his board (which happens to be there for this matchup), he asked to make sure he was reading the right card.

"Yes. So how do I sideboard," Martell asked? "Want to tell me?"

"...no."

Both players shuffled their decks thoroughly. Then, they shuffled each others' decks thoroughly. Somewhere along the line, maximum randomness was achieved.

Martell won the die roll and chose to go first. Saito made the first move with a first-turn Æther Vial. Martell played a Brainstorm in response, but Saito made him think that he might Daze it for a minute before letting it resolve. Martell really needed to find an answer to the Vial. LSV and PV told me earlier in an interview that their worst matchups are games that start with a resolved Vial. Unfortunately, Martell found no help. The Vial hit play.

Martell attempted to land his own permanent, a Counterbalance, on the following turn. Again, Saito thought for a long minute before deciding to Daze it. Saito kept Martell's lands under control with a Wasteland on his turn. Thanks to the Vial, he no longer had to worry about building up his mana to play his creatures. Martell just untapped and played a Sensei's Divining Top. Saito moved his Vial up to two and tapped it to two a Coralhelm Commander into play with it. An Island followed and his Commander went to level one.

Martell's Top paid him dividends, helping him to find an Oblivion Ring to deal with Saito's Vial. Unwilling to let it go without a fight, Saito removed a Merrow Reejerey to Force of Will the Ring. Keeping his Vial on two counters, Saito began his turn. He activated his Vial to put a Silvergill Adept into play, drawing him a second card for the turn. He then leveled up his Commander and sent it over for three. His final play for the turn was a Cursecatcher.

Martell, needing to stem the bleeding activated his Top to search before using it to draw a Swords to Plowshares from the top of his deck. He promptly aimed it at the Commander, which Saito allowed. He then plopped a 3/4 Tarmogoyf into the way of the marauding Merfolk. Unfortunately for him, Saito had a Lord of Atlantis to give them a way around the 'Goyf. Martell dropped to eleven.

Martell replayed his Top and activated it. After ordering the top of his deck, he sent his Tarmogoyf over for three. At the end of his turn, Saito thought for a minute before passing on activating his Vial. HE then untapped, played a Mutavault, and attacked Martell down to four. When a Brainstorm failed to find Martell any help, he conceded before even putting the cards back on top of his library.

Tom Martell 0 – Tomoharu Saito 1

Before sideboarding, Saito gave himself his signature slaps to focus his attention. Martell shuffled his whole sideboard into his deck before carefully thumbing through it and picking out his fifteen rejects. Saito just pulled out he changes he needed to make and made them.

Martell thought for a minute about an opening hand that contained a Counterbalance, but no way to protect it before keeping his draw. Saito seemed quite pleased with his hand as he immediately followed Martell's declaration to keep with an enthusiastic one of his own. When he led off with a Cursecatcher on the first turn, it became apparent why. Martell managed to get his Counterbalance on the table on the following turn, much to his relief. He whiffed on his blind activation in an attempt to counter a Coralhelm Commander, but at least he was online.

Saito managed to sneak another Merrow Reejerey into play through Counterbalance, which revealed a Swords to Plowshares on top. Martell's inability to manipulate his deck was really starting to become a problem. Saito attacked him down to fourteen.

Martell decided on his turn to clear the board with a Firespout. Saito Dazed, leaving his Cursecatcher behind. Martell couldn't stop the Daze and was simply forced to pay the one mana. This forced Saito to sacrifice his Cursecatcher, netting the Firespout at least one creature. Unfortunately, there were still some very problematic ones on the board, and a Mutavault in reserve. When Saito sent the team on his turn, Martell dropped to five. Martell simply played a land and passed his turn. Saito activated two Mutavaults and sent his whole team. Martell did the math and conceded the game.